So far my Playa vehicles have been pedal-powered, except one golf cart based. But the urge to build a larger "real" MV refuses to go away.

Mechanically, the concept is to use a pickup-truck chassis, with automatic transmission for easy stop-and-go. But I'm considering getting four wheel drive also. For one thing, it would be less likely to get stuck. But more importantly, it would have Low Range gears.

My experience with the golf cart based MV is that it goes too fast. To me, a MV rarely needs to go faster than two or three MPH. And many road-going vehicles will go over 5 MPH by just letting off the brake pedal. So I'm thinking the ideal thing might be to use Low Range on the Playa.

A low range would be well suited for heavier applications that demand the additional torque, or applications that make use of very large tires. It would also be very useful if you plan on using a smaller engine (6 cyl. or even 4 cyl if you intend to use an older import chassis). The idea is to maximize mechanical advantage, but will usually keep you at a higher RPM, thus using more fuel. However, if you don't plan on having a lot of weight or other situation where the mechanical advantage is needed, you would likely be ok with just leaving it as is and setting up a governor system (block of wood under the gas pedal) to keep the speeds at a minimum. This keeps your RPM down and your fuel tank fuller longer.

my advice is, go for it and have the flexibility to choose. I've yet to make it to the playa so I'm not sure how much stop/go there is, or if turning radius is a big deal (4x4 affects it, slightly), so others will have to chime in on the playa particulars. Just make sure the front drivetrain is in good order as I imagine fine dust would play hell on u-joints, and if you buy a manual find one with a softer clutch. Too heavy a clutch with stop/go driving and you'll soon find yourself walking in circles.

low range is great......but I'd not go a standard trans......even in low range, it'll idle at 5 mph or higher, unless you have super low gearing.......( one of my Jeeps is 5.20:1) and in compound low , it idles about 2 mph.an auto trans, is the way to go. the Stagecoach we have in camp is a Chevy S10 chassis, auto, not 4x4 and has done just fine......heck if it did somehow get stuck, you have a car full of folks to push you off the dune, anyway.

I'm seeing quite a few 1990s full size 4x4/auto trucks (and Suburbans) on Craigslist for less than $2.000,-.

the other nice thing about the auto trans is no clutch.......with all the stop and go related to darkwads and general clueless (sure I see a 4 ton vehicle coming at me, but yeah, I'll step in front, I know he'll stop) people, it's so much better.and then gearing is not nearly the issue, since the torque converter takes up rpm slack.smoother take offs.....all in all, mucho bettero (yes, I am multi lingual)

I've never seen a pickup truck that was 4WD and did not have low range. I recommend getting a pickup with lockable hubs that can be set to free. That way you can select 4WD Low Range with the hubs in free and have super slow rear wheel drive only... that way there is no crow hopping when making turns. I used to buck hay on to my truck and trailer with my truck driving it's self like that in granny low. I could walk up to it and turn the wheel a little through the window when needed. It was a manual transmission that had granny 1st gear. Low range gives a nice selection of close ratio gears. Keep us posted.

Black Rock City Welding and Repair. The Night Time Warming Station.

When you pass the 4th "bridge out!" sign; the flaming death is all yours.-Knowmad-

Oooo yeah... I've been wondering if it would be possible to drive in Low with front hubs unlocked. That would be the perfect arrangement. No diff between front and rear on these things, eh?

Which brands and years have manual locking hubs? The photos people post rarely show enough detail.

Oh... an other thing I could do.... The downside to using an automatic tranny is that I cannot select my gear, which might be desirable in Low Range. But.... Automatics can be modified to shift manually -- drag racers do it all the time.

happy 4x4 hunting Elliot! I can add that older Dodges and Plymouths among others often had fulltime 4wd (yes there are Plymouth trucks, mine's a '76 Trailduster 4x4 model, mostly the same as the Dodge Ramcharger) with a 3rd diff in the transfer case. you can spot these as the t-case shifter will have hi-lock, hi, N, lo, lo-lock positions on it and there won't be front locking hubs (unless there's an aftermarket conversion). avoid the lock positions like the plague except for low traction situations and the hard smooth playa is really a pretty high traction surface... I wanna see what you come up with!

oh yeah I know those old rancher tricks on removing the (maybe broken) front or rear driveshaft and driving around in hi-lock or lo-lock...got me out of a bind here and there...

Makes sense. With full time four wheel drive you would need a center diff. And if it can be locked, you have the best of both worlds. But I'm also thinking in terms of availability and cost of parts and repair skills, and that narrows it to Ford and Chevy -- primarily Ford, the top pickup seller for decades, I believe. For example, I would want the automatic freshened by a pro before using it.

Now that you mention it, I've seen 4x4s driving around without the front drive shaft. But I would want locking hubs in case I get stuck in a Playa dune.

This isn't going to happen for a little while. It may even wind up being for 2013. But I want to educate myself in advance.

We found this 87 Bronco II on our local Craigslist for $300, it runs like a champ, no major fluid leaks, lights and stereo works, 4 wheel drive works great and it goes right at 3-4 mph in 4 low. The previous owner even converted the air conditioner motor into an air compressor with a hose that will blow out the radiator perfectly and the tires are in good shape too. I think the playa gods could not have been kinder to us or found us a better base for an MV or handicap vehicle:-) Hope you are as lucky as we were!

inthecolumbiagorge wrote:We found this 87 Bronco II on our local Craigslist for $300, it runs like a champ, no major fluid leaks, lights and stereo works, 4 wheel drive works great and it goes right at 3-4 mph in 4 low. The previous owner even converted the air conditioner motor into an air compressor with a hose that will blow out the radiator perfectly and the tires are in good shape too. I think the playa gods could not have been kinder to us or found us a better base for an MV or handicap vehicle:-) Hope you are as lucky as we were!

if there's already an oiler there excuse my assumption:

but,if you're using an A/C pump for air, make sure you have an oiler, or way to oil it.they are internally lubed from oil in the A/C system, and if pumping air, can and will run dry and break.

You can always add an under drive gear box, Klune extreme v drives have a 4 to 1 reduction for smaller vehicles and a 2.72: 1 for larger vehicles, these planetary gearboxes work well on both 4wd and 2wd vehicles. They may be a little pricey but bolt to the back of an automatic and offer plenty of torque and can be shifted from a 1:1 ratio to a gear reduction. I have two of these bolted back to back behind a 454 big block Chevy on The Walking Beast to give me a final drive ratio of 125:1. I have no problems keeping it under 5mph!

@ ElliotDa vinci days has been mentioned to me before, It might happen some day when I have fewer projects on my plate. Currently all my projects are electric or engine powered.I beleive the kinectic sculpture race is for human powered vehicles.

Flywheels have been a hot topic of discussion in KSR for several years. A few years ago a team used electric power transmission with giant capacitors, and that led to discussion of flywheels. There was some talk of an experimental class for such things. I think there was some concern about homemade flywheels disintegrating with harmful results. But you would have to check with the organizers. You should find them on the DaVinci Days web site.